A MALTBY man has been sent to prison following a trio of racially motivated offences – including threatening behaviour against a seven-year-old boy.
Kevin Entwistle, of Birks Holt Drive, was given an eight-week sentence for the offence, and two further 14-week stretches for similar offences at a shop.
The 25-year-old entered the Top Shop convenience store, on Atlee Close, on two consecutive Fr
idays in September. The incident against the young boy followed just two days later, on Sunday 14th September.
And South Yorkshire Police have stressed that the speedy turnaround from arrest to conviction highlights how seriously they take racism.
“This is a clear example of the importance that South Yorkshire Police, our partners and the legal system as a whole, give to dealing with racially aggravated offences,” said safer neighbourhood Inspector Richard Scholey.
“These crimes were investigated and brought to a conclusion extremely quickly. There is no place in society for individuals who attack or harass others, simply because of their ethnicity or religious beliefs, and this sentence properly reflects that view.”
“Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Maltby and across Rotherham will continue to provide all available support to those in our communities who are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, and we will act swiftly to identify and arrest anyone who behaves in a racist manner.”
“As we have seen in this case, offenders can fully expect to go to prison.”
Last week the Guardian reported on a similar case, where staff at a Dinnington takeaway suffered racial abuse because they refused to hand out free food.
The youth threw a bottle at the window of Imaans, on Laughton Road, before running off.
l See Insp Richard Scholey’s column on page 10 for more on this story.
The full article contains 305 words and appears in Dinnington Guardian newspaper.
